Our Busy Legislature - Lots of Bills in the Hopper, Women's Right to Choose is a HOT Topic

by: wvblueguy

Sun Jan 13, 2008 at 19:04:46 PM EST

I don't know how they do it, but in just the first few days of being in session the House of Delegates and the Senate have introduced 883 Bills that are already assigned to committee and ready to be evaluated.  Of the 883 Bills 94 Bills in the House and Senate are similar or are considered the same. Hard to imagine these will all be addressed when there are only 60 days in the session, plus I'm sure there will be a lot more bills introduced before it is over.  Our state legislature has an excellent web site that offers a myriad of ways to look at the pending legislation that allows anyone using the tools provided to follow a bill as it is making its way through the process.  There are easy to use links that allow you to read the bill as it is written and to see who sponsored it and put it in the hopper.  The West Virginia Legislative Bill status site can be viewed by clicking here.

As I was perusing the list I was really surprised to find that there are 34 bills that deal specifically with the subject of abortion.  Virtually every topic concerning a woman's right not to choose is covered in these potential laws. There are a couple of them that are not anti-choice, and there are a few that are bi-partisan. It is interesting to note that with few exceptions the same names keep coming up as sponsors particularly Republicans on the more draconian and absurd bills. I have pulled all of the abortion related bills out from the other proposed bills and have listed them after the jump.  Abortion has always been a hot topic in our state legislature, and it is possible to do an historical search to see how hot it is as the search came up with 476 items that have been debated since 1993, and that may include some of the bills proposed this session that have been carried over from last year.  You can see the search which does not cover this years bills by clicking here.  I took the time to see who the sponsors are so that you can take the time to let your Delegate or Senator know how you feel about a particular bill. It is very easy to look up a bill and read it by clicking here and putting the number in the appropriate space. The session is just getting started... we all need to pay attention to what bills are moving along, and let our representatives know how we feel.  I'm not too sure that these folks are used to hearing from constituents as opposed to lobbyists and the Governor.  You can get addresses and phone numbers for Delegates by clicking here, and the same information for Senators by clicking here.  Lets make the 2008 session of the WV Legislature interesting for our representatives and ourselves.

The list of Abortion related Bills and their sponsors follows below: 

HB 2008 Azinger (R-Wood D10)
Requiring abortion facilities to have certain written policies and procedures
HB 2025 Azinger (R-Wood D10)
Requiring that abortions be performed in hospitals or by physicians with admitting privileges to a hospital within the local service area
HB 2036 Border (R-Wood D09)
Establishing the crime of partial birth infanticide
HB 2037 Border (R-Wood D09)
Requiring that abortion providers notify the parents of a minor seeking an abortion forty-eight hours before performing the procedure
HB 2072 Hamilton (R-Upshur D39), Romine (R-Tyler D06)
Requiring the department of health and human resources to enforce specific abortion clinic regulations
HB 2092 Schoen (R-Putnam D14)
Allowing pharmacists and other individuals involved in dispensing medicines to refuse to fill prescriptions or dispense any substance that can be used as part of an abortion-related procedure
HB 2129 Lane (R-Kanawha D32), Porter (R-Mercer D25), Blair (R-Berkeley D52), Sumner (R-Raleigh D27)
Banning partial birth abortions in instances when the unborn child is capable of survival if delivered
HB 2134 Brown (D-Kanawha D30), Hatfield (D-Kanawha D30) Guthrie (D-Kanawha D-30) Fleishauer (D-Monogalia D44)
Providing rape victims with reliable emergency information regarding pregnancy and abortion, and providing those victims with emergency contraception if they desire
HB 2138 Schoen (R-Putnam D14), Blair (R-Berkeley D52)
Prohibiting abortions at state college or university medical facilities, except when the abortion is necessary to save the life of the woman receiving the abortion
HB 2149 Overton (R-Berkely D 55), Rowan (R-Hampshire D50), Sumner (R-Raleigh D27)
Requiring the collection of statistics relative to abortions performed in the State
HB 2151 CAAN (D-Harrison D 38), Stainaker (D-Lewis D38), Pino (D-Fayette D-29), Fragale (D-Harrison D-41), Kominar (D-Mingo D20), Pethel (D-Wetzel D05), Craig (D-Cabell D15), Perry (D-Fayette D29), Beach (D-Monogalia D44) laquinta (D-Harrison D41) 
Relating to parental notification requirements for abortions performed on unemancipated minors 
HB 2219 Blair (R-Berkeley D52),Sumner (R-Raleigh D27), 
Requiring a physician to receive written consent from at least one parent or legal guardian before an abortion is performed on an unemancipated minor
HB 2228 Lane (R-Kanawha D32), Porter (R-Mercer D25), Sumner (R-Raleigh D27), Armistead, (R-Kanawha D32), Walters (R-Kanawha D32)
Prohibiting subsidies to entities that perform abortions
HB 2245 Lane (R-Kanawha D32), Porter (R-Mercer D25), Sumner (R-Raleigh D27)
Requiring the Department of Health and Human Resources to maintain information for public dissemination relative to judicial bypasses to the requirement of parental notification relative to abortions performed on minors
HB 2273 Blair (R-Berkeley D52)
Prohibiting a business or organization from performing abortions in a public facility
HB 2313 Brown (D-Kanawha D30), Hatfield (D-Kanawha D30)
Requiring any faith-based facility that counsels women regarding contraception, abortion or pregnancy to maintain a quality assurance program
HB 2368 Romine (R-Tyler D06),Schoen (R-Putnam D14)
Prohibiting the performance of any abortion when the woman seeking it is doing so solely on account of the gender of the fetus
HB 2369 Rowan (R-Hampshire D50),Porter (R-Mercer D25)
Requiring physicians performing abortions take steps designed to save the life of any aborted live fetus
HB 2416 Hatfield (D-Kanawha D30), Doyle (D-Jefferson D57)
Prohibiting pharmacists and other persons involved in dispensing medicines from refusing to fill prescriptions
HB 2581 Walters (R-Kanawha D32)
Requiring notice of an abortion to be provided to the father of the unborn child
HB 2792 Walters (R-Kanawha D32)
Prohibiting family planning centers that receive state funding from discussing abortion
HB 2905 Schadler (R-Mineral D49)
Ensuring that medical workers have the right to refuse to participate in any abortion-related activity
HB 3003 Ireland (R-Ritchie D07), Romine (R-Tyler D06)
No State-Funded Transportation for Abortion Act
HB 3058 Duke (R-Berkely D54)
Providing that when any body part of an unborn child is outside the womb, the child is born, and is considered a citizen of the state
HB 3077 Boggs (D-Braxton D34), Miley (D-Harrison D41), Eldridge (D-Lincoln D19), Stephens (D-Cabell D16), White (D-Mingo D21), Barker (D-Boone D18), Carmichael (R-Jackson D12),Kominar (D-Mingo D20), Rowan (R-Hampshire D50), Sumner (R-Raleigh D27), Armistead, (R-Kanawha D32)
Prohibiting state funding of abortions
HB 3099 Ellem (R-Wood D10)
Requiring that every woman seeking an abortion be given the opportunity to see an ultrasound image of the fetus
HB 3108 Sobonya (R-Cabell D16), Moye (D-Raleigh D27),  Stephens (D-Cabell D16), Miller, C. (R-Cabell D15), Reynolds (D-Cabell D16)
Making it illegal to transport a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion without written consent by both parents
HB 3126 Sobonya (R-Cabell D16), Stephens (D-Cabell D16), Rowan (R-Hampshire D50), Miller, C. (R-Cabell D15), Craig (D-Cabell D15), Reynolds (D-Cabell D16)
Prohibiting school employees from promoting abortion
HB 3128 Boggs (D-Braxton D34), Pino (D-Fayette D-29), Miley (D-Harrison D41), Lane (R-Kanawha D32),Sobonya (R-Cabell D16), Ellem (R-Wood D10), Schoen (R-Putnam D14)
Relating to parental notification requirements for obtaining abortions by unemancipated minors
HB 3187 Rodighiero (D-Logan D19), Stephens (D-Cabell D16),Reynolds (D-Cabell D16), Ellis (D-Logan D19), Shook (D-Monongalia D44)
Requiring facilities providing abortions to obtain parental notification or consent in writing
SB 149 Sypolt (R-Preston D14) 
Prohibiting certain state medical facilities from performing abortions
SB 63 Guills (R-Greenbrier D10), Barnes (R-Randolph D15) 
Prohibiting subsidies to entities performing abortions
SB 89 Love (D-Fayette D11)
Requiring medical means to preserve life of fetus aborted alive
SB 92 Prezioso (D-Marion D13), Bowman (D-Hancock D01), Unger (D-Berkeley D16)
Relating to parental notification for unemancipated minor obtaining abortion